A guide to local SEO for restaurants

Implementing local SEO as a strategy is an effective way to market your business online. It helps promote business products and services to local customers at the exact time they’re searching for them. Here’s a brief guide to local SEO for restaurants.

What is Local SEO?

When local people are searching for your type of restaurant they need to be able to find you. Local SEO is the practice of sharing content and data, via your website, so search engines can effectively determine what you’re offering to local customers. Local SEO helps increase your restaurant’s visibility to local customers. It’s the ideal marketing method for reaching people searching for your specific business. Millions of customers use local search every day to find the best local businesses for their needs. Local SEO an imperative practice to use with your restaurant.

Customers routinely turn to search engines to find information about local businesses and restaurants in particular. Because some people search the internet without a particular destination in mind, it’s important to associate specific terms with your restaurant in hopes of grabbing a customer’s attention. So make sure to highlight your unique dishes!

Google Maps

Additionally, 86% of people look up the location of a business on Google Maps. This is important because Google Maps has evolved into an essential component for local SEO. Google My Business recently rolled out an update allowing business to add additional URLs and links to their listings. Restaurants can now add links to their online ordering page, update their restaurant’s bio, and showcase photos of their dishes. These extra links allow restaurants to differentiate themselves from competitors.

Local SEO (as described by these SEO experts) is implemented best to ensure businesses get higher rankings in local search by…” NAP consistency, local citations, and reviews. First, make sure your NAP details (name, address, phone number) are consistent everywhere across web. The details on your Google business page need to match up exactly with your website. Second, get citations: listings in reputable local directories, outlets like trade magazines, local newspapers, industry blogs, etc. Third, make sure you gather online reviews from your customers to show that you are a reputable business.”